Travels to a Българска Сватба

I had been invited to Dupnitsa for the resource fair of the new TEFL volunteers (B23s). I was asked to present environmental education materials since most of the work I have done in site has been teaching local youth about recycling, animal habitats and respecting the local environment. I Traveled to Dupnitsa through Plovdiv and Sofia. It was very nice meeting the new trainees and soon to be volunteers. It was the day before they were sworn in and I had the opportunity to speak with them and see some of their last minute jitters. They seemed very excited and ready to head to their new homes.

The next morning I woke up very early to head back towards Sofia and then onto Plovdiv to meet with other volunteers who were traveling with me down south almost to Greece for a Wedding. The wedding was in a small Bulgarian village named Slashten. A volunteer and a Bulgarian tied the knot in Bulgarian tradition.

Before the wedding I decided to take a shower..............should have thought twice. This bathroom had a clogged drain and I was unaware of the flood of water flowing out of the door. By the time I was finished, all the floor outside the bathroom was covered in standing water and confused Bulgarians. I apologized over and over and tried to help clean it up but they just smiled and seemed to say that it has happened before................the floor was tile making it easy for cleaning.
Early in the morning we met outside the home where the bride had been since midnight. It is tradition for the bride to hide so that her groom cannot see her the day of the wedding before she comes out in her dress. We all waited outside patiently for the bride and groom to make their appearance. When they came out a baba sprinkled them with herb water, local musicians played music and candy was thrown as we all walked through the village into the square.
Later came dancing and then signing of the marriage documents. We spent the rest of the day eating and dancing, eating and dancing until we were just about stuffed. At one point the dance group the bride danced with in Chirpan became the even entertainment. The bride changed out of her dress into a traditional Bulgarian costume along with her sitemate and those from the group who made the trip. Late we took a small break, then went to a small cafe where the other volunteers, the bride's family and the groom ate left overs from the wedding feast.

We sent the new couplke off with wishes of luck and happiness.
The next morning started early. Time to head back to site.........seems easy enough right? Well all the volunteers who came to the wedding and I hopped onto a little micro bus headed to the next large town where we would get on another bus to Sofia. On the trip, a group of men got on the bus but had not closed the door to the luggage bin correctly. The bag of one volunteer fell out and is believed to have been stolen by a passing car. After almost an hour talking about it outside the bus we got back on and headed to our destination. We took the driver to the local police station where Peace Corps (on the phone) , the police and the driver spent an hour or so discussing the next steps. The volunteer probably wont get his bag and belongings back but thankfully will be able to have the bus company reimburse him for the majority of his lost items.

Now that I'm back to work after a long and expensive trip (Bus fare is a killer) I have been meeting soo many foreigners who are hiking and traveling through Karlovo. I work at a tourism center so when they walk in I have to assume they are Bulgarian (this is Bulgaria) so I begin speaking in Bulgarian. When I get the awkward face I used to give when I didn't understand, I switch to English and that tends to be more productive. Just yesterday I met a young French boy who had been hiking from Italy and wanted to travel over the Balkans through Karlovo. I provided him with a map and took him to the beginning of the train up to peak Botev and then up and over.
The weather is hot and sweltering. Had to buy a fan so that I could sleep at night. Work is going well and my projects and ideas are rolling along. It may be warm but I'm staying busy and that's what makes a good day.